![]() If that’s not history, we don’t know what is. Photo: Historical plaque on the Apollo 11 lunar module “Eagle” (via idsgn) The Apollo 11 mission - the first ever manned moon landing in 1969 - wisely chose this lettering for the plaque they left up there (below). In what is probably the typeface’s crowning achievement, Futura has walked on the moon. Volkswagen and IKEA (above) used the typeface exclusively in their ads (up until 2010, when the furniture company controversially switched to Verdana), and you might recognize the typeface in the logos for Domino’s Pizza and Absolut vodka (below).įilm directors Stanley Kubrik ( 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining) and Wes Anderson ( The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) also famously prefer Futura for their films’ titles and credits (below). Volkswagen Ad: jeffminarik (via Coroflot)ĭesigners and companies over the past century have taken advantage of Futura’s benefits, to iconic effect. In 1927 he created Futura (above).ĭerived entirely from geometric forms (near-perfect circles, triangles and squares), with strokes of near-even weight and contrast and distinctively tall lowercase letters that rise even above its capitals, Futura looks like efficiency itself: clean, standardized, legible, stylish without any overt “style.” When he did, the typeface came alive in all new ways: Gone was the coldness he had long felt was imbued in the design, and instead he found an all-new rhythm, balance and readability. Though not officially part of the Bauhaus school, another German typeface designer, Paul Renner, believed in the school’s principles and felt he could make Erbar’s typeface better. It would be utopia by design.įutura typeface in light, regular, and semibold: Paul Renner (via Wikipedia) Only in this world could social equality truly come into being, they believed. The Bauhaus designers believed in a world where form and function destroyed ornamentation, clutter and revivals of the more decorative past. It is based on the circle - the most fundamental of all typographic components - and is supremely easy to read, which is a typeface’s basic function after all. In accordance with the hugely influential Bauhaus school of design, the typeface aimed for a pure functionality, with no ornamentation or individual characteristics. In 1922, German professor Jakob Erbar created the first ever geometric sans-serif typeface (above). The makers of this font saw more than just “good design” in their creation they saw the makings of a maximally efficient society - a utopia. The appropriately named Futura, for example, is as relevant today as it was at the time of its creation almost 90 years ago. That goes for pages (web and print), sentences, words - as a matter of fact, typeface can quite literally make or break a single letter! Just ask the comic sans haters.ĭesigners have been well aware of the importance of typeface for over a century, and the history of these deliberate and deeply thought-out forms can be downright amazing. Remember that consistent texture is an important technical attribute in a typeface and one that becomes apparent when a typeface is applied to a block of text.Choice of typeface can make or break a design. ![]() ![]() This helps contribute to the overall colour and texture of a block of text written in Futura. It’s tapered into where the curved lines meet the stems (ex: lowercase n) - it’s an optical illusion - it’s made to look like a machine created it, while at the same time appearing geometrically perfect. Round circular counters (such as the a - that cut in a bit into the stem to give the illusion of perfect circle) Low cross bar on lowercase letters like ‘t’ ![]()
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